Nate Diaz recently participated in his first-ever boxing match against Jake Paul. He lost the fight after lasting the entire ten rounds. Following that, ‘The Problem Child’ offered him a rematch, not in boxing but in MMA. However, UFC legend Chael Sonnen believes that the Stockton native should consider fighting Dustin Poirier instead.

Nate Diaz is arguably one of the biggest MMA icons out there. Moreover, even Jake Paul mentioned that the fight against the former UFC fighter was his biggest fight ever. With that in mind, the YouTuber-turned-boxer offered a $10 million deal for a rematch in MMA. But that doesn’t seem too interesting to Chael Sonnen.

Chael Sonnen believes Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier is the way to go

‘The American Gangster’ mentioned that thinking about Nate Diaz returning to fight in the UFC is an uncertain pick for him. This is because nobody knows what the Stockton native is going to do next. Chael Sonnen said, “Nates a huge call by me… considering [that] we don’t know what Nate’s gonna do.” Considering that he’s already fought Jake Paul once, he may not hesitate to fight ‘The Problem Child’ again. It is because Diaz knows his value as a fighter.

“A rematch against Paul in boxing is on the table. Not to mention a rematch against Paul in MMA is on the table… you’re talking about a guy who knows his worth,” Sonnen stated. However, the UFC legend suggested Dustin Poirier as Nate Diaz’s ideal opponent because ‘The Diamond’ has never backed down from a fight. This is in relation to his announcement regarding another fight later this year. Moreover, he’s even hinted at a move to welterweight, where Diaz has also fought during his UFC stint.

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Sonnen added, “I am banking everything I am telling you on the premise that Dustin Poirier has never F’d around with us.” However, there is another issue that Sonnen feels needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Where will Poirier return to fight this year?

The latter half of 2023 has many big-money fights announced already. Fighters such as Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Islam Makhachev, and Khamzat Chimaev, among many others, are already scheduled to fight in either the co-main or the main events of the upcoming PPVs. This is one aspect that has Chael Sonnen questioning the return of Dustin Poirier this year. He added, “So if he says he is fighting this year… But if he is fighting, where?”

Sonnen also mentioned that the only event that is still under development when it comes to the fight card is UFC 296 in December. Sonnen further stated, “We have only got one date left on a pay-per-view that doesn’t have an established main event. That’s December.” However, there are already many fighters who can take that spot, too.

Sonnen certainly believes that Dustin Poirier is not a co-main event fighter, he’s a headliner. And a match against Nate Diaz is nothing short of a blockbuster. The Stockton native has mentioned many times that he wants to get back into MMA, with Dana White also having no problems with a UFC return. We will have to wait and see what the 38-year-old MMA icon decides to venture on as we approach the end of the year.

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